That's Life
by Mister-Dinosaurus-Poof
Summary: Axel is a hot headed reaper that is as defiant as they come. When a joke gets taken too seriously, Axel overreacts, and his twin Grell feels aweful. Being put on the most boring job a reaper can have, he searches to find new ways to abuse what power he has left. While working, he stumbles across an interesting character that makes him dream. What will he do to continue dreaming?
1. Chapter 1

Whilst walking down the narrow sidewalk, trying to backtrack his steps towards a place he knows he shouldn't have been in the first place, much less going back to, Roxas was on red alert. His head was flipping this way and that, his eyes darting from one moving object to the other, not really resting on anything in particular, his mind moving faster than he himself could follow.

He knew what he was doing was wrong, and he know what he should be doing, but so help him, he wouldn't let Sora have died for nothing. He could accept the fact that Sora had died, but he couldn't accept that Sora, sweet, innocent, fun, giggly, bubbly personality-ed SORA, was murdered, and his murderers would never see the inside of a cell. That couldn't happen. Not while Roxas was around to avenge his little brother.

Roxas was now turning corners without paying attention to which street he was turning on. A building he recognized, and knew shouldn't be on his way back caught his attention, and his head snapped up. Shit! he thought. How the hell did I end up on the wrong side of downtown?

With an exasperated and quite frustrated sigh, he heaved himself around and started back the way he just came.

He ran his fingers gently through his hair as he stopped for a second and leaned against a brick building. He needed to calm down, or he wouldn't be able to do what he so desperately needed to. He reached into his pocket, trying not to disturb the pocket with the bullets in it, and grabbed out his pack of cigarettes. As he put it up to his mouth and lit it, he smiled as he recalled Sora's voice, saying the sentence he always said when he saw Roxas spark up a bogey.

Roxas, no! Sara usually tried to grab the cigarette out of Roxas' hand at this point. Those are so bad for you, I can't even begin to explain! Put it out, Roxas! Put it out now! Do you want to die from lung cancer, or end up like one of those people on those God awful commercials on television? You'll have a hole in your throat or end up green and moldy looking! Put it out!

Roxas had heard that speech more than once, and by the time Sora was done yelling at him, his cigarette was almost gone anyways, so he flicked it. When Sora was alive, he hated hearing him say that. He hated when his younger brother tried to preach to him about how "Bad he was being and just how bad his bad habits were", but at that moment in time, as tears started to well up in Roxas' eyes, he wished he could hear that speech just once more. He wished he could hear Sora's laughter, or see Sora's smile for a last time.

As Roxas felt the tear stream down his face, he became enraged. He puffed on the cigarette one last time and scowled at it as he flicked it into the road. He pushed himself off the wall, and started towards the docks with more anger inside himself than he thought possible, and he knew what he wanted, no. What he needed to do, and by God, he was going to do it.

He clenched his fists tighter as he walked at a brisk pace towards his destination. His mind no longer swirled, but was focused on the task at hand.

No one will stop me. Roxas thought to himself.  
No one CAN stop me.  
Nothing can go wrong.  
I know what I'm doing.  
I will…

Roxas' train on thought was interrupted when a not so small hand grasped his wrist, and started leading him away from the direction he was walking, and was dragged into an alley. As he was being pulled, he looked at the man pulling him, and was startled. Roxas wasn't gay, but the tall, slender, flame red haired man with bright, emerald eyes had to have been the most gorgeous man he had ever seen. His body was thin, but muscular. His eyes sparkled in the darkness of the alley, and Roxas could tell they would sparkle even more in the sun. His hair was the brightest red he'd ever seen, but it fit the man. Roxas would have known if he'd ever seen him before, and he hadn't.

Although the mans appearance distracted Roxas slightly, when he came back to reality, the man had him pinned against a wall, and that infuriated Roxas, but at the same time, he was also worried for his life, for his family.

Who was this man? What did he want? Why did he choose Roxas?

That's when the man spoke.

"Just what in the HELL do you think you're doing?" The flame head said. Roxas looked at him, confused and worried. "Let me GO!" Roxas urged as he tried to flail his arms and legs at the man, but it was useless. The man might look slender, but he sure was strong. Roxas gave up the losing battle and just stood there, staring at the man. "What do you want? I don't have any jewelry, and I only have $20 on me. I don't use credit cards. I have a family. Please, have mercy on me.." As Roxas trailed off on the last line, he looked into the red head's eyes, and he could have sworn there was a tinge of hurt.

"Look, man. I don't want anything from you. I don't want your money or your family, or anything. What I want…." The emerald eyed man trailed off, and looked at the ground for a moment, like he didn't know what he wanted. "Listen. I know what you're on your way to do, I know you feel like you have to, but trying to kill those men won't bring Sora back, Roxas! Can't you see that?" The man spoke slightly louder than he meant to, and he looked away.

"How do you know my name? How do you know about Sora? Who are you? WHAT are you?" Roxas demanded.

With a sigh, the red head put Roxas down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle. "Nothing I'm doing is working. Nothing is changing. Why do you have to be so hard headed?" The red head asked without actually wanting an answer.

He lifted the bottle, took out the cork, and put a pill in his hand. "I'm sorry. You'll thank me eventually." He put the bottle safely back in his trench coat pocket, then grabbed Roxas.

As the red head tried to shove what ever was in his hand, that Roxas couldn't see, in his mouth, Roxas fought. He had no idea what it was, and had no intention of finding out, but it seemed like the red head knew what he was going to do before he was going to do it. How is he managing this? Roxas thought to himself as he swung for the red head and missed. Then, the red head backed up, and Roxas began wondering what was going on. Before Roxas thought the entire sentence, the red head closed the distance between them with a jump, and was on top of Roxas.

It was easier for the emerald eyed man to get the pill in Roxas' mouth once he had jumped on him. He got it in his mouth, then got off of him.

As Roxas lay staring at the man, the man spoke to him. "I'm sorry, but it had to be this way. You'll know why in a short time. The name is Axel. Got it memorized?" The man pointed to his temple, the turned around and started walking. Roxas found himself unable to move, and unable to speak. He was slowly but surely losing consciousness when the man turned once more.

"Maybe one day, I'll be able to explain this all to you. Dtí go chéad uair eile a*." He then winked, and walked away as Roxas lost all consciousness.

**Dtí go chéad uair eile a: Irish, meaning Until next time.**

**So haii :D This happens to be the first story EVER for me to upload! :D So, for when she DOES read this, I'd LOVE to give a huge thanks to Raiden Amour, my lovely best friend/roommate/super hero pal. :3 **

**I know I left with a LOT of mystery, sort of. And I apologize for any mistakes that I may have made, and this chapter might be a bit short, but that's the first chapter. ^.^**

**The rest of the story to be uploaded will be BEFORE all this happens to go down. I know, I know. Might be a bit confusing. But, please bear with me. **

**That is, of course, assuming anyone reads this.. Aaaand now I feel like I'm talking to myself.. xD **

**Anyways, just in case some one DOES read this, fanksss. :3 **

**You should also review, let me know what you think. And please, let's all be honest. :D **


	2. Not Everything Is As It Seems

**So, here's chapter two! :D Here's a tip. Starting now, every chapter is going to have two parts, one following Axel and the other following Roxas, not necessarily in that order. Enjoy!**

Axel walked among the company of his twin brother, Grell, down the East Corridor. They were on their way to pick up their assignments for the next few hours, and Axel groaned.

"Why, for the love of God, do we never sleep? Do you even remember what sleep IS, Gr? I mean, sure we've been Reapers for the past, oh, 332 years," Axel was saying, as Grell interrupted, "333 years, Al." Axel looked at his brother with a facial expression somewhere between disbelief and disgust. He couldn't stand being called Al, and Grell knew that. His name was Axel. Not Alfred or some stupid shit like that. "You started the annoying name calling first, so I don't want to hear a damn thing out of you, and that's that." Grell said, referring to Axel calling him Gr, his old family nickname that Grell wish never stuck.

"But I still remember what sleep felt like. I remember what it was like to lay down, and not worry or work. I remember dreaming." Axel continued like the little dispute never happened, "Do you remember sleep, Grell?' Axel looked away from his twin's face, and looked down the corridor, his mind silently recalling all the sleep he had embraced in his former life.

"Yes, Axel. I'm sure all of us remember what sleep is. I kind of miss it, too. But you have to admit, not getting tired or worrying about dying isn't so bad." Grell reached over and placed his hand on his younger sibling's head, mussing his hair. With a smile on his face, Axel swatted his hand away playfully.

"Want to know another thing I miss?" Axel asked as Grell looked at him, still walking along the dark green hallway, almost at their destination.

"What would that be, little one?" Grell responded sarcastically, knowing along what lines of what Axel was about to say, having heard it a time or two before.

"Well, you probably won't know what this is, and if you do, you won't miss it because you need to have it first. I miss having sex. Rough, long, screaming from the pleasure, sex. Not that you would know what that's like." Axel looked at Grell with his classic shit eating grin, and ducked just in time to miss the fist that Grell threw towards him as payback.

Grell was offended that Axel thought he didn't know what sex was or that he had never had sex. Compared to Axel, Grell looked like an innocent child, given Axel's past history of being a delinquent and, quite honestly, a menace to society. Axel may have been more experienced in that sort of thing, but Grell knew a thing or two.

Axel then reach into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulled out his pack of cigarettes and his lighter, then offered one of them to Grell, knowing he wouldn't accept Axel's offer. Axel shrugged it off as Grell shook his head in disappointment with a sigh. Grell watched as Axel inhaled the first drag of his cigarette, then looked away with another exasperated sigh, not noticing as Axel mocked him as he began to give Axel the speech he always gave him when he saw Axel light up a cigarette.

"You know you shouldn't be smoking. I know you won 't get lung cancer and die, but it's a.." "A bad habit that no one likes and yadda yadda yadda. Let it GO Grell. I've hear it for almost 345 years. Do I need to continue listening to it?' Axel interrupted with a shake of his head as he took a deep drag off of his bogey.

Axel looked at the floor, as Grell shook his head some more and finally opened the door in front of them and entered the room marked William, Schedule Keeper.

Once you walk into William's office, all you can smell is the overpowering aroma of lavender and vanilla. His walls are lined with bookshelves, which were lined top to bottom with books. The little bit of the wall you could see was a cayenne red. William had three desks in his office with multiple filing cabinets, all of which he kept immaculate. Other than a few windows, that housed a spectacular view of the garden, there wasn't much else. William took his job as serious as he should. Why should he not? He was, after all, the King Of Death, as Axel called him.

Grell and Axel both knew that the orders came from higher up, and William was only a few links higher on the Reaper's food chain than them, but that never stopped Axel from continuously taunting William with his nickname.

"Oh, King of Death, I bow to you. I ask thine, what hath thine commanded of thou today, my liege?" Axel spoke, bowing towards William with a smirk of satisfaction as Grell rolled his eyes and William tried to keep his temper, and ignore the flame head.

"Explain to me again how you two are related, Grell?" William asked while searching through a drawer to find the lists of people that needed to be reaped for the Sutcliff twins.

With a rare, yet genuine smile, Grell spoke, "Honestly, I don't know. I don't remember sharing a space that small whilst in the womb. I think my mom found him on the side of the road heading home from the hospital and just adop..." Grell was instantly hit with a throw pillow from William's couch. William, hating disarray and horseplay, especially in his own space, immediately yelled, "Axel, that is ENOUGH. Don't be so sensitive." He gathered the pillow, and harshly thrust the folder with the names,

time and places towards the twins. "Now, get out. Stop pestering me, and go do your job so I can get back to mine.. Imbecile!"

Axel took the folder, but couldn't contain his laughter any longer. As Axel burst into laughter, Grell swung his fist towards him in annoyance and partially to bring him back to reality.

"Thank you, William. A pleasure, as always." Grell said, nodding his head.

"Just doing my job, Grell. Maybe next time you can keep your hound on a leash." William motioned towards Axel, who was still chuckling.

"Thank you, my liege." Axel bowed. "And as always, I shall compliment you on your abilities to keep your office as shiny as a new nickel and smelling more feminine than I could ever describe. Did you EVER come out of the closet to your parents in life?" Axel howled in laughter before he ran out of the door, leaving William and Grell to stare in disbelief. Grell couldn't believe his ears, or that he was related to Axel.

Axel and Grell met up in the courtyard before taking off to do their job, Grell holding something in his hand with a smirk on his face.

"What is that?" Axel asked with a look of curiosity on his face, motioning toward the package in his brother's hand.

"William said it's a birthday present from him. He figured you could use it now."

Grell handed Axel the parcel and Axel grew excited. I hope Willie doesn't take anything I say as a come on. He's not my type. He's too stiff." Axel chuckled at his own joke, then started tearing into the wrapping.

"What the FUCK is this?!" Axel yelled. Grell laughed harder than Axel had heard him laugh in a long time. "There's a card too." Grell passed the card to his little brother, as he started tearing up from the laughter.

Axel opened the card and read it out loud.

_Dear Axel. I thought long and hard about what to get you for your birthday, and it was exhausting. But once I gave it a rest I remembered something. You LIKE things long and hard. So therefore, I hope you get good use out of this dildo. I'm sure you could find some time to use it on yourself. Love always, Your Liege William, King of Death, as you so named me. _

Grell fell over on a bench with laughter. Such a bold move for William, and towards Axel, it was just too much, although Axel didn't find it funny. Not that Axel had a problem with his sexuality, but for William to make a joke on him was NOT okay. This infuriated Axel, mainly because Axel had to be the center of attention, not the punchline of a joke.

As Axel walked over to the front of the huge mansion like building, he could see William waving at him with a devilish smirk. This made Axel even more enraged. He drew back his arm, and threw the gift through William's office window.

"Axel!" Grell exclaimed. "What the FUCK are you doing? It was a fucking JOKE!" Grell tried to move swiftly to Axel's side to grab his arm, but Axel snapped his fingers and vanished.

"I'll teach that fucker to make a joke out of me." Axel said to himself lighting a cigarette.

As Axel walked down the sidewalk and puffed on his cigarette, he looked at the list of names to find the one he was looking for, and there it was.

"Ahh, there it is. Namine. 3:47pm." He looked at his watch, and chuckled. It read 1:13 pm. All he had to do was make one move, one little "slip", and William's world would be fucked up for a while. Axel knew there would be consequences, but he would gladly accept them. It was worth it to know that William would be suffering and paying for what he did.

Axel flicked the smoked cigarette butt into the road as he walked fervently towards the woman's whereabouts. He was going to kill her. Ahead of schedule. Being a reaper didn't have many rules, but following the schedule was most definitely one of them. There was no way he was going to get out of this one, and most definitely no way to talk his way out of it, even if Larxene is the one that he has to see. Larxene may be completely obsessed with Axel, but there's no way she could get over what he was about to do. No one would be able to.

_The only worry I have is Grell. He can't find me before I do this. He'll try to stop me, and I cannot allow myself to be stopped._ Axel thought to himself as he walked around the corner and saw exactly who he was looking for. He knew exactly where she would be, but he wasn't supposed to be there. He was supposed to be in Italy, about to see his 1:27 soul that needed reaping. This would only take a minute, then he would continue his schedule as planned.

Right before he started heading around the corner to "accidentally bump into Namine", he heard a voice he knew all to well sound off in his head.

_Axel, what the hell do you think you're doing? Do you really think this is worth it? Over a simple JOKE? Axel. If I've ever meant anything to you, don't do this. As your twin and fellow reaper, I tell you not to. This isn't something to mess around with, Axel. Don't do it... _

Axel then shut the voice out, and locked his mind. Who was Grell to tell him what to do? He was only "a few minutes older than him. It's not like he had years of experience. Then Axel thought, "_But maybe he's right.. Maybe.. Maybe this _is _a little too far..."_

"Fuck it. What's the worst that could happen?" Axel spoke to himself, wiping all traces of doubt out of his thoughts.

He walked maybe a bit too briskly around the corner, and came to a halt when he saw that Namine was trying to retrieve a baby from the backseat. He then started looking at the telephone booth, turning around and listening to Namine talk.

"Hello there, Ventus! Hi, baby! How's mommy's big boy?" Namine cooed at the little baby. He must have only been a few months old. What would happen to the baby? Could Axel actually go through with it? Just as Axel was starting to talk himself out of it, he heard Namine start cooing to the child again.

"So, Vennie, are you ready to go see your daddy? Yeah? Daddy's going to be surprised to see us, especially when we bring his lunch in. Oh, yes he is! Hold on baby, mommy has to grab the basket, then I'll grab you and we can go see daddy."

_Too perfect._ Axel smirked to himself as he watched Namine open up the trunk of her car and pull out a basket. He then turned around, and looked away as he "accidentally" bumped into Namine. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Namine said immediately, thinking it was her fault.

Axel chuckled to himself, then spoke. "No, not at all. It's my fault completely. I wasn't paying attention." He then lifted his hand as he smiled at her. She returned the smile, then he placed his hand on Namine's shoulder, and reaped her soul.

Axel saw her facial expression change, and watched her clutch her chest. Then he snapped his fingers and was in Italy. He checked his watch, looked around for a moment, then found his target. He started walking towards the man with brown hair, then got confused.

He was on a quaint little street in Italy one second about to reap a man, then he was in The Grand Hall with the Head Reaper, Sebastian Michaelis in front of him. He knew his punishment wasn't going to be easy, but he didn't think it would be this bad.

Axel looked at his brother, who was on the right side of Sebastian, and he then realized how bad what he did truly was. Grell was looking at Axel with weary eyes, slowly shaking his head, with silent tears going down his face. _What have I done?_ Axel thought.

**Part Two: Roxas**

Roxas was a desk boy at a tattoo parlor. The pay was pretty good, the hours were great, and the people were amazing. Roxas was in the middle of a shift, and about to take his lunch break with the rest of the crew. Usually, this meant that he would sit one of the chairs and talk on the phone with his wife, asking how she and their 11 month old son Ventus were doing.

Roxas and Namine were only married a few months over a year, but have been together for so much longer. Nam was Roxas' entire world.

Riku, who was a coworker and just so happened to be engaged to his younger brother, Sora, walked up to Roxas just as he was pulling out his phone after punching out for lunch.

"Hey Roxie! How's my brother in law to be doing? Ah, calling the little ole lady like usual, eh?" Riku smiled as he walked a bit closer to Roxas. Roxas returned the smile, then replied.

"Hey, Ku. I'm good. What about you and Sora?"

"Sora and I are great. Sora is so excited to be getting married. More excited as usual, if you can believe it. Waiting on the little lady to come in?" Riku asked as he looked from the window to Roxas, wondering why he had his phone out when Namine was right there.

Roxas looked at Riku with a look of confusion. "What are you talking about? I was just about to call her..."

"Oh.. Well, I don't think there's a use. She's right outside the.." Riku and Roxas then heard a scream and looked towards the front door, and what they saw will haunt them both for the rest of their lives.

Roxas felt like he was in one of the dreams you try to run in, but can only move slowly. Every second felt like a lifetime. Roxas heard his son screaming, and panicked. Roxas ran to Namine's side, with tears streaming down his face, while Riku went to the other side of the vehicle and grabbed baby Ventus.

Roxas knelt next to Namine and grabbed her while screaming, "Some one call an ambulance! What happened? Namine! No! Nam, baby, come back to me! You can't leave me! Oh, God, no! Namine!"

Roxas' whole world crumbled at that moment. In that one minute, Roxas went from being the happiest man on Earth to feeling as though he had nothing.

He heard his son speak, and he realized he had only one more reason to continue on.

"Daa. Where ma? Ma!" His son asked, then screamed. It broke Roxas' heart to know Vennie would never see Ma again. He would never hear her voice or feel her touch again.. And neither would Roxas.

Roxas took Ventus from Riku, who was tearing up, then looked at Ventus.

"Ma? Ma! Wann ma!" Ventus voiced, then began to cry out for his mother. Roxas took another look at the child. _Don't worry baby.. I want Ma too..._Roxas thought, then as the child cried and looked for his mother, Roxas held onto the child, and broke down even more.

After putting Vennie to bed that night, Roxas sat down with a bottle of Jack Daniels, a glass with some ice in it and thought to himself.

_Why did this happen? Was it something I did? What? No. It couldn't have been me. I can't cause a heart attack. I don't know. Maybe if I'd done something different.. Or if I'd been a better person or had a different job.. Or maybe if I'd never met her, she'd be happy with someone else.. And alive.._

Roxas felt a tear falling down his face slowly. He wiped it away, then took a swig of his beverage.

_At least the only place there is to go is up.._ Roxas thought to himself as he finished his 7th cup, then collapsed on the couch.

Roxas had no idea how wrong he really was.

**Wow, that was pretty intense, right? Oh man. This chapter is a bit longer than the first, but at the same time, it's still kind of short. I apologize. I'm trying to concentrate the best I can, but ADHD has it's downfalls. I'm sure that the 3rd chapter is going to be just as thrilling, so please, follow :D **

**Reviews would be nice too :3 **

**But yes. Another special thanks to Raiden Amour, without whom, this chapter would not be uploaded. ^.^ 3 **


	3. Never One, But Always More

**Following Axel**

Axel stood speechless, full of nothing but regret, wondering why he let his anger get the best of him, yet again. Axel couldn't bring himself to look at Grell any longer than he had to. He could nearly feel the anger seeping out of Sebastian, and his annoyance and dislike for Axel was apparent on his face. In any other setting, Sebastian and Axel would be joking with each other and laughing already, but Axel knew better than to even try to joke with Mr. Michaelis this time.

Axel glanced at Sebastian once more after a few minutes of staring at his feet, and the look on Sebastian's face made Axel feel like he would never have the chance to joke with him again. Axel crossed a line. Axel crossed a line that shouldn't ever be crossed, especially for the reason he crossed it.

Sebastian was more than just disappointed in Axel, Sebastian was furious with him. Axel knew the rules like everyone else, Axel knew the consequences of his actions, yet he always lost his temper and broke some rule. But not only did he break a rule, he broke the most important, and all over a stupid joke. Axel let his pride get in the way of him being a reaper, and this wasn't his first offense.

Sebastian had no problem with Axel as a person, but as a Reaper and an employee, Sebastian found Axel incapable of staying level headed and doing what needed be done. William shouldn't have done what he did, on account of William trying to make Axel mad, but Axel lost way more than just his temper. Axel might possibly lose his position as a reaper, possibly even more.

Sebastian then looked at Grell, inside feeling bad that Grell had to be present during a hearing for his twin, and thinking about how much this must hurt Grell. Sebastian refused to let his own personal feelings for Grell help Axel get out of trouble. Yes, it would be hard for to watch his twin's sentence carried out, but Axel had known what he was doing, and did It of his own accord. Axel abused his power to get back at another reaper for a joke. There's no way Axel could get out of this.

"Axel Sutcliff, do you know why you're here?" Sebastian said. Axel was a little shocked to hear a voice, and even more surprised at the tone of voice Sebastian used. Axel then got a little offended Sebastian was being so formal, and asking if Axel was stupid enough to think that he didn't know what he did wrong. The whole reaping world probably already knew. Why would Axel not know what he did wrong?

"Sebastian Michaelis, no I don't know why I'm here. I was in Italy on a reap, then was transported here. I most definitely don't know why taking a person before it's time was a bad thing, because I'm an incompetent fool, if I'm being honest, Mr. Michaelis." Axel said in a soft, sarcastic tone, immediately regretting it. Then Axel spoke again, "I'm sorry. That was completely out of line. Yes, Sebastian. I know why I'm here. I can honestly tell you I'm sorry about what I did, though."

"You're only sorry because you're getting in trouble, Axel!" Sebastian spoke with a raised voice, then caught his composure. "You can't get out of this one, Axel." Sebastian said. "Axel Sutcliff, you are brought here today in front of a jury of your peers to determine your guilt or innocence. You are brought here under the suspicion of neglecting your position as a formal reaper. You took a joke the wrong way, then reacted with your job over your own ego being bruised. You neglected and abused your given job to get revenge on another reap, then tried to continue your job like you did nothing. How do you plead to these accusations?" Sebastian asked, a look of agitation on his face with the last sentence. Sebastian had known Axel for almost 150 years, and Axel never admitted to being in the wrong.

"I, Axel Sutcliff, plead guilty to all the aforementioned accusations. I did all that, and even right after I did it, I felt guilty. I should not have done what I did, but nonetheless, I did it, so I shall accept every and all punishment given to me." Grell and Sebastian both looked at each other in complete and utter shock. Neither one of them expected Axel to admit to what he did, let alone to take his punishment so willingly.

Sebastian cleared his throat, then looked at Axel with a stern look. After all, just because they were friends doesn't change what Axel did, or change Sebastian's job. Sebastian had expected a trial over Axel's guilt, but he never expected Axel to admit he was wrong, and that he did something.

"Axel Sutcliff, you admitted yourself guilty. Furthermore, you will be subjected to a lesser punishment until the next trial that will determine what will be your permanent punishment."

Axel being so upfront and honest didn't sit well with Sebastian. Something about it made Sebastian wonder, and there was no way he could trust Axel to still reap, even if it was just small jobs, or limited jobs. There wasn't any way Sebastian could send someone along with Axel. There were just too many people dying and not enough reapers to spare one. Then everything clicked into Sebastian's head.

"From this moment forward, you are no longer on duty. Your scythe will be collected from you as you leave, then you will report to your station and relieve The Undertaker."

Sebastian smiled, knowing that this punishment was almost as bad as it could get for Axel. There was a clear look of dissatisfaction and shock on Axel's face, but he willingly enough accepted his temporary punishment. The fact that Axel accepted the punishment willingly kind of took a little of the joy out of it for Sebastian, but he knew that Axel would be thoroughly unhappy.

After all, not all jobs as a Grim Reaper are collecting souls.

**Following Roxas:**

Roxas laid Ventus down after a long day that was filled with nothing but sadness. After kissing the infant's forehead and covering him up, Roxas walked quietly out of the room, not quite shutting the door all the way and turning on his son's nightlight.

With a deep, sorrow filled sigh, Roxas leaned against the counter, all out of tears, and poured some more whiskey into his glass, staring at it for a few seconds. He was deep in thought when he heard Sora come into the kitchen and sit at the table, sniffling and wiping his eyes.

Roxas then snapped back into reality, drank the whiskey in his glass, and began to pour another. He turned and looked at Sora and motioned towards the bottle.

"No, thank you, Roxy. You know I don't drink.. Even under the circumstances."

Roxas silently nodded, grabbed the bottle and his glass and proceeded to the table. Ro

He watched as Sora looked at the table, stared for a second then flailed his hands. "Roxas, I understand you're going through a lot, but you really need to do something with these spiders. I mean, it's not bad, but still. You have a son. I don't think it's safe."

Roxas then investigated the spider Sora had flung off of the table. "Just a daddy long leg.. Not like they'll hurt him." Roxas waved Sora off. "It's not the spiders you have to worry about here. It's the snakes. I don't see how the damn things keep getting in here. I found one near Venny's room yesterday.. I'm glad I kept him in his Pack And Play.." Roxas waved off Sora's gasp and miniature freak out. Roxas didn't want to talk about snakes, and to be honest he didn't care. He wasn't interested in them. He wasn't interested in talking about them, or about anything for that matter.

Not interested in anything but getting completely inebriated, if he was being honest with himself. Roxas didn't want to think. He didn't want to know Nam was never going to come home. He wanted to forget. He wanted to think about anything other than his late wife. Roxas felt the tears almost coming, wiped his face, downed his shot, then poured another.

"How are you doing, Roxas? Really." Sora asked, not wanting a bullshit answer.

Roxas stared into his glass like it was a never ending, ever changing abyss, and could immediately feel fresh tears welling in the corners of his eyes. He then drank the amber colored alcohol inhabiting his glass, then sniffled, while wiping his eyes.

"I miss her, Sore. I miss her so much, and it's the little things that are tormenting me. I miss seeing her laying in bed, waiting for me to get in with her. I miss hearing her say I love you. I miss seeing her face, hearing her laugh, the smell of her when she hugs me, shit, just seeing her!"

Roxas slammed his fist on the table as the tears started streaming down his face. Seeing Roxas in such hysterics caused Sora's eyes to start watering again. Sora stood up from the chair, and walked over to Roxas, trying to console him.

"Roxas, I know it's hard, but at least you still have Venny. It could be so much worse. At least she's in a better place, Rox. It'll be okay." Sora chanted to Roxas in a slight hum, while rubbing his back. Roxas then clung to Sora, yet again crying his eyes out. Sora held on to Roxas and hummed to him like their mother used to do when they were younger.

"_Out there in the spotlight, you're a million miles away..."_

As Roxas calmed down, he started humming with Sora.

"_Hmm hmmmhmmhmmm hmmm hmmhmmhmm hmmhmhmhmm hmmmhmmmmhmmmhmmm_."

Sora helped Roxas up, as his grieving brother had not a single ounce of energy left, then laid in bed with him. Sora held his brother like his brother had held him many times in the past when something was wrong with him. "I love you, Roxie." Sora whispered into his brother's hair, not knowing Roxas was half asleep.

"Mmm. Love you too... Sorrr..." Roxas mumbled as he fell into a deep sleep. Sora fell asleep shortly after without realizing he fell asleep.

Exactly an hour and a half later, both Roxas and Sora were frightened awake by an ear piercing screech. It came from Ventus' room.

Roxas and Sora didn't think, they just moved. Roxas, still a little tipsy from the whiskey he drank fell into the door but managed to keep going. Sora, who had to jump over the bed, was right on his tail as the two men ran to the baby's room, their ears filled with nothing but the screaming.

_Oh, god. What's going on? What's wrong with my son? Please, God, let it be a nightmare or something.. Just let Venny be okay.._Roxas thought as he rushed into the baby's room. He didn't bother with the light, knowing the door was open and Sora had left the hall light on like he asked him not to, but at that moment, he couldn't be more thankful for his brother's forgiveness.

Roxas grabbed the child, lifting him as he got to him. "Ventus, baby, what's wrong? Are you okay? Shhh, it's okay baby!" Roxas tried to calm the child to no avail. He then held him out, with Ventus still screaming at the top of his lungs, and tried to investigate the child. At the same time Roxas saw two little dribbles of blood on Ventus' right foot, Sora screamed, which made Roxas jump and Ventus yell louder.

"ROXAS! It's a snake! ROXIE HELP!"

Sora then started tossing everything he could get his hands on at the babies crib. Roxas grabbed Sora's arm and handed him Ventus. "Take him in the other room and clean him off, I'll take care of this!" When Sora hesitated momentarily, Roxas shoved his brother's shoulder. "Sora GO!" He then turned around and looked towards the baby's crib. As he looked, he noticed not only one snake, but 3.

Not only were they snakes, but they were poisonous. Just just any, but a rattlesnake.

_A fucking Pygmy Rattlesnake... In my son's room. Oh, God, what have I done?_

Roxas grabbed the lamp next to him, and squashed the two closest to him. They were only babies, so they didn't pose much of a threat. He then had a moment to grab his pocket knife off of his belt and pull it out. He looked inside his son's crib, and saw the bigger snake. "Oh, my goodness.." Roxas then grabbed the extra curtain rod that thankfully was leaning against the window, right next to him, and pushed it into the snakes head to hold it down. He then cut off the snakes head.

With a sigh, he was instantly relived only to be stressed and disturbed again. _Ventus!_ Roxas thought.

Roxas still heard the screaming, but he ran anyways. When he entered the bathroom, he noticed there wasn't only one set of bite marks on his son's leg. Sora was fumbling with a cell phone trying to call 911. Roxas went catatonic looking at his son's overly inflated leg. Ventus was screaming as loud as was possible, and for good reason. Roxas looked at his brother, then at his son, and his last coherent though was _Oh, my fucking God... What did I do to deserve this? This can't be happening.. This is all just a dream..._

**Wow. *Hides in a corner.* I know not a lot of people have read this, but to the continuing to read, please don't be mad. I understand I leave quite a lot of cliff hangers, and it's taken me a while to finish this chapter, but alas, it won't be that long for chapter 4. This chapter drove me a little crazy at a few parts, like the do's and don't's of a Reaper, and especially trying to find the type of animal I needed. **

******But a special thanks to an amazing friend that made me keep my cool, and stay on task, possibly for her own reasons, Raiden Amour :3 **

**Grazi, senora 3 **

**But on a serious note, I think I might also start another story, just to keep myself busy. :D **

**So, leave me a review! I only have one so far :C**

**But it'll make me happy! :D **

**-Amber.**


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